The Care Initiative

In September 2007, a brilliant Year 13 student Michael Matovu together with a couple of friends came up with the idea of a student-driven CSR initiative that would be funded and administered by the students under the auspices of the school administration.
His ideas gave birth to CARE, a CSR umbrella initiative that brings together RISU students to take active part in community work, donations, voluntarism, learning and appreciation of the communities in which we live.

What is CARE?

CARE is an acronym standing for Communicate, Assist, Raise funds and Educate (not to be confused with the United States – based international relief agency CARE or Carry American Relief Everywhere).
The purpose of CARE is to plan and co-ordinate charitable activities of RISU students in order to improve the welfare of their communities.

What does CARE focus on?

CARE activities are broadly divided into:

Fundraising for noble causes like orphanages support

Providing opportunities for volunteer work like in orphanages

Donation of funds, clothes, food stuffs and scholastic materials

Raising awareness among students, families and teachers and lobbying for noble causes and charity issues

Cultivation of a spirit of voluntarism, selflessness, sharing and caring among students

Supporting affiliate NGOs and CBOs

Interacting and networking with underprivileged communities and groups

Organising learning trips to communities being supported by the initiative

What has CARE achieved?

Over the years, this initiative has helped to raise valuable funds to support numerous NGOs, CBOs, orphanages and education initiatives mainly through:

Donation of scholastic materials such as text books and stationary to schools and orphanages

Donation of food stuffs and clothes to schools and orphanages

Volunteering in the construction and painting of class room blocks

Fundraising towards the construction of class rooms and homes for children

Raising awareness among students, families and teachers and lobbying for noble causes and charity issues

What makes CARE unique?

The CARE initiative is unique in many ways and stands out from other CSR initiatives in many ways but mainly in its origins, current modus operandi and future plans.

The initiative was born out of a student’s idea of how he wanted his fellow students to approach the concept of CSR. CARE was not an idea of the Management of the school, the teachers or the parents but was born out of the selfless desire by a group of students to help the communities in which they live. Hence the students of RISU own the CARE concept and initiative as 100% their own.

The initiative uses a “bottom – up” approach in its administration and operations instead of the usual “top-bottom” approach that is common in schools. In other words, the student body makes important decisions such as what charities, NGOs and CBOs to support / work with and their decision are then communicated to the school administration.

CARE is almost totally funded by the students with the exception of minor expenses such as transport and logistics to project site locations, which are handled by the school administration. All funds got through fundraising for projects and donations made come directly from the students.

The initiative embraces the input of the students right from an early age such as time and manpower offered through voluntary work. Staff, teachers, parents and well wishers are allowed to contribute but the major output comes from the students.

Under the CARE initiative each class identifies and selects a charity, NGO or a CBO of their choice to support and work with. As a result, over 30 different charities receive support from Rainbow students.

CARE has been in operation at RISU since 2007 and has grown from strength to strength as an initiative owned and administered by the students. Despite the limited resources possessed by the students, the initiative has thrived over the years with the belief that “a little done today can do so much tomorrow.”
Most importantly, the initiative goes a long way in promoting the spirit of sharing, caring and voluntarism from a very young age and this positive trait / virtue remains an integral part of the children’s lives throughout their adulthood.